Sustainable principles and practices are central to Concordia’s design program
INDI PhD student Vanessa Mardirossian has developed a rich palette of colours by using food waste to provide pigment-producing bacteria.
Design students have always been in the vanguard of sustainable creative practices at Concordia, says Professor pk langshaw, Chair of the Department of Design and Computation Arts.
“This year’s end of term shows and the many research-creation projects our students are working on now really highlight how sustainable principles and practices are embedded in the overarching directives of our programs.”
Langshaw took a moment to share a few examples of current student work in the department, where sustainability is an essential aspect of their research-creation projects.
Building blueprints that challenge the boundaries of clothing
A page from design student Andrée Uranga's workshop portfolio for DART391.
Andrée Uranga, recipient of a Concordia University Student Research Award (CUSRA), is undertaking a research/creation project, called soft surface design : sustainability and futuring that features more inclusive and sustainable representation in fashion design.
Trained formally as a fashion designer, Uranga works with textiles, biomaterials, and fabrics, employing techniques such as experimental patternmaking, eco-dyeing and eco-printing to reflect on what we put on our bodies and why.
“I am interested in how structure, pigment, shape, space and production can potentially disassociate cloth from canonical narratives that, more often than not, limit it solely to the human body. This project is to dissolve boundaries and pursue experiment, with sustainability at the heart of my creative axis,” says Uranga.
“Andrée’s practice is a blueprint that challenges the boundaries of clothing,” says langshaw. “They use clothing as a form of social commentary, drawing a direct relationship to environmental sustainability and how the body relates to its environment.”
Transforming industrial space in Pointe Saint Charles
Design student Man Zou is collaborating with Atelier La Coulée to transform industrial space surrounding Batiment 7 this summer.
2021 Elspeth McConnell Fine Arts Award recipient Man Zou will carry out a sociocultural and environmental sustainability project from April to July as part of the Ruelle Bleue Verte program.
The design student is collaborating with Atelier La Coulée to transform industrial space surrounding Batiment 7 in Pointe Saint Charles into a seasonal sculpture garden for their artists in residence as well as a ‘community place’ for gardening, family picnics and an animal shelter and feeding station for local fauna.
She will also develop a sustainable support structure for sculptures on exhibition using materials such as recycled wood and re-melted metal waste. The supports will be modular components and designed to disassemble for ease of transport, storage and recycling.
A pop-up shop that supports at-risk Montrealers
A sample of student work for sale at an online pop-up shop featuring sustainable designs.
Second-year design students have launched a pop-up shop featuring their sustainable work called ShopNordicity.
Students in the course DART392 Environmental Research and Practice, taught by Professors Miranda Smitheram, Alice Jarry and Alison Loader, have produced a limited series of objects made with ethical design principles. Each project communicates a response to the impact of Montreal’s harsh winter climate upon the homeless in the city.
Working remotely in virtual teams under pandemic constraints, the students adapted their creative practices for home studios and kitchens; they centred their work around slow design, local materials, and sustainable principles. Their final works incorporate methods such as eco-dyeing, DIY printing, felting, transformability, reuse and zero-waste.
Proceeds from the online shop will be donated directly to three local community partners who provide shelter, support and warmth to those who need it most: St-James Centre, Resilience, and Chez Doris.
Using food waste to create a new palette of natural colours
Examples of natural colour palettes developed by INDI student Vanessa Mardirossian.
Vanessa Mardirossian, a doctoral student in the Individualized program, has an exhibition entitled ‘Culture de la couleur: une écolittératie de design’ at the École Supérieure de Mode, UQAM until the 7th of May.
Supervised by Assistant Professor Alice Jarry, her research-creation addresses the toxic aspect of the textile industry from a design perspective.
Inspired by how the natural world builds its own materials, at room temperature and without waste, Mardirossian has used a rich palette of colours by using food waste to provide pigment-producing bacteria. Defined as an ecological culture in design, her research engages in a dialogue between design, chemistry and environmental health, to reflect on textile materiality and to address complex societal issues through the prism of biodesign and color.
Learn more about programs in the Department of Design and Computation Arts.